Cue stick bridge support

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for holding and supporting portions of a bridge and a cue stick utilized for playing games such as a pool and billiards. The top of a body holds the load, while the bottom of the body connects to a support for supporting the body from a flat surface such as the playing surface of a pool table. The support extends downwardly from the body a desired distance to rest upon the playing surface.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates to apparatus for supporting, in combination with a prior art device referred to as a “bridge”, a cue stick for striking and propelling a driving ball (sometimes called a “cue ball”) over a flat surface. More particularly, games such as pool and billiards require that a ball be driven along a precise path over a flat surface. A driving ball may be inconveniently located close to other balls or beyond easy reach of a player and therefore difficult to strike with precision. This invention relates to apparatus to facilitate striking such inconveniently located driving balls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Games of pool or billiards have endured over the years since their respective invention and now involve large rosters of professional players, large audiences and large sums of money. Apparatus for playing these games are being upgraded by highly skilled and inventive artisans who are inspired by a love of the game and by the large sums of money available to improve and facilitate play of the games. Such apparatus includes, but is not limited to, at least one driving, or cue ball which is usually white in color, a plurality of variously colored balls, sometimes called “object balls” which are to be propelled in desired directions by the cue ball and one or more cue sticks utilized for striking a cue ball. A cue stick may typically be about five feet long and made of wood such as ash or maple and be circumferentially tapered from about 14 mm. diameter at a free, gripping end to about 11 mm. diameter at an opposite, free striking end. Advantageously, there is assembled to the cue stick at the striking end, a deformable tip so the cue ball may be pressed into the tip by force of the cue stick when it is longitudinally translated and the tip is driven against the cue ball. The pressing of a deformable tip to a cue ball facilitates giving “spin” to a cue ball, sometimes called giving “english” to the ball. Another purpose of the tip is to impart velocity to the cue ball; still another purpose is to impart precise aim to the cue ball. It will be appreciated that imparting and controlling such spinning, velocity and aim cannot be achieved unless a cue stick is properly supported so its tip may engage a cue ball exactly as desired by a player. Normally, such support is achieved by a player applying a first hand near the gripping end for supportively translating a cue stick and applying a second hand near the striking end for supporting and guiding the tip into desired engagement with the cue ball. Such guiding is typically achieved by placing the second hand downwardly upon the flat driving surface, then raising the knuckles and thumb upwardly to form a “V” shaped bridge between the thumb and adjacent knuckle for supportively guiding the cue stick. Also, a player may utilize the forefinger of the guiding hand to wrap around and guide a cue stick. If a cue ball is close to a side rail which supportively encompasses a table, such rail may be utilized by the guiding hand to supportively guide a cue stick.

[0003] A problem is that a cue ball may not always be conveniently located whereby supportively translating and guiding a cue stick may be achieved utilizing only a player's first and second hands. For example, a cue ball may be located closely adjacent to one or more object balls. Also, a cue ball may be located so far away from a side rail of a table that a player cannot extend a second hand sufficiently to get close enough to the cue ball to supportively guide the cue stick and tip into desired engagement with the cue ball.

[0004] The problem of inconveniently located cue balls was addressed in the prior art primarily with apparatus referred to as a “bridge” (sometimes called a “rake” because the bridge sometimes resembles a miniature garden rake). The bridge has a handle resembling a cue stick with a gripping free end and a guiding end. Across the guiding end there is assembled a rectangular guiding plate to form a “T”. The plate has “V” shaped notches along a side which may be 4″ to 6″ long and at least one such notch along a shorter side which is about 2″-2½″ long. In use the player places the long side of the plate guide on the flat playing surface utilizing the bridge stick to position the guide on the player's side of a cue ball. Then a cue stick had its guiding free end placed into a notch along the edge of the bridge guide. By manipulating the gripping end of the cue stick with the player's one hand and manipulating the gripping end of the bridge handle with the player's other hand, the tip of the cue stick is brought into a desired engagement with the cue ball. When a cue ball is obstructed such as by one or more object balls, the player rotates the handle with the attached guide plate to bring one of the short sides of the rectangular guide to rest on the flat playing surface and elevating the notch on the other, short side of the bridge guide. The guiding end of a cue stick is then placed in the elevated notch whereby the cue tip may be translated over the obstruction and into a desired engagement of a cue ball.

[0005] A problem with prior art bridges is that the guide plate often provides unstable support of the cue for the guiding end of the cue stick. Such instability is especially evident when a guide is rotated to rest on its short end to elevate a guiding end of a cue stick. Sometimes the plate guide cannot be placed sufficiently close to a cue ball so a cue stick, slidably supported in a notch in the guide, cannot be properly translated over obstructions and into a desired engagement of a cue ball.

[0006] Accordingly, it is desirable to provide new and approved apparatus for supporting portions of a bridge and a cue stick. It is desirable to bring a guiding end of a cue stick and its tip into a desired engagement of a cue ball when the cue ball is inconveniently distant from a player or is obstructed such as by object balls. Prior art bridges are found in company with most pool and billiard apparatus so it is desirable to provide apparatus to enhance guiding support provided by such bridges. It is further desirable that such apparatus be easily carried in a player's pocket and be readily applied to such known bridges.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Apparatus is provided for supporting a load such a portion of a bridge and cue stick utilized in playing games such as pool and billiards. A bridge support has a body with bottom legs and a top trough which is upwardly concaved and of a size and shape to fit closely and at least slightly more than halfway around the circumference of a desired handle of a bridge. The trough is sufficiently long so the length and fit of the trough provides a desired support for the bridge, it being understood that a portion of a player's cue stick is supported also by the bridge and, therefore, portions of the bridge and the cue stick are supported by the bridge support of the invention. The trough of the body also has opposing sidewalls extending the length of each side of the trough and of a height above that of a bridge handle when placed in the trough, sufficient that each sidewall has portions above the handle which may be bent away from the opposing portion to readily accept and guide a bridge handle into the trough.

[0008] In a presently preferred embodiment, the body and its sidewalls are made of resiliently pliable material and the sidewalls are biased toward one another such that the sidewalls are forced apart to accept therebetween a bridge handle with a snap-fit in the trough. Such material of the body and the snap-fit are sufficiently strong that the bridge support may remain firmly snapped onto a handle when the bridge is lifted and carried about by a player.

[0009] The opposing sidewalls of a body may be extended downwardly from the trough to form on either sides of the body respective opposing skirts for connection to respective opposing support legs. A top portion of each leg may be flattened into a plate extending upwardly along a surface of a skirt inwardly of the body. A thru-bore in each skirt and a thru-bore in each plate may be provided and a respective skirt and the plate of a respective leg may be assembled in matching relation whereby a thru bolt and nut may be installed and tightened in matching thru-bores for connecting each leg to a skirt.

[0010] The opposing skirts of a body are provided to form an inverted “V” shape whereby the legs when connected to such skirts extend downwardly to continue and enhance the inverted “V” shape. Such legs are sufficiently long to support the body with a bridge handle therein so its guiding plate will support and aim the guiding end of a cue stick in a manner and at sufficient height to engage a cue ball as desired.

[0011] In a further embodiment, at the bottom end of each leg, a rounded smooth portion is provided so a bridge support may be slid over a playing surface without damage to said surface.

[0012] In another embodiment, the legs are rotatively connected to the skirts of a body. Resilient inserts are employed in nuts for bolts for biasing a leg plate against its respective skirt such that, when a leg is rotated about a bolt said bolt and its connecting nut remain in tight connection. The plate at the top of each leg plate may have a cam configuration around its bolt connection. A portion of the cam is wider than the remaining portions and such wider portion bears on a portion of the body to prevent rotation of a leg in a first circular direction and to permit rotation of a leg in a second circular direction. When both legs are rotated in the desired second circular direction, the legs may be stored in a preferred manner substantially parallel to a bridge handle. When a body is snap-fitted to such bridge handle and the legs are properly rotated for storage, the bridge supporte is readily carried by a player along with the bridge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0013] The invention will be more readily understood from the detailed description when read in conjunction with the drawing wherein:

[0014]FIG. 1 is a plan view of a bridge utilized to support and guide a cue stick.

[0015]FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the bridge shown in FIG. 1.

[0016]FIG. 3 is a left side view of a substantially rectangular guide plate taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1.

[0017]FIG. 4 is a left side view of the guide plate taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 2.

[0018]FIG. 5 is a pictorial view of an unseen player manipulating his second hand upwardly to elevate and guide a cue stick (with tip) gripped by his first hand to engage a cue ball.

[0019]FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5, wherein a bridge is utilized in a typical manner to support and guide a cue stick to engage a cue ball which is too distant for the player to engage utilizing only first and second hands.

[0020]FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5, wherein a bridge handle is rotated to turn a guide plate upwardly extending its full length for the player to bridge over an obstructing object ball to engage a cue ball.

[0021]FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, wherein a typically oriented bridge is elevated by support of the present invention such that the guide is utilized in an elevated manner so a cue stick may be bridged well over obstructions for engaging a cue ball.

[0022]FIG. 9 is a top view of a bridge support according to one embodiment of the instant invention.

[0023]FIG. 10 is a first side elevation of the bridge support shown in FIG. 9, taken along line 10-10.

[0024]FIG. 11 is a second side elevation of the bridge support shown in FIG. 10, taken line 11-11 to show rotation of support legs.

[0025] It can be seen that some features in the figures are abbreviated or simplified to highlight certain aspects of the invention. Also, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated in the figures to designate the same or corresponding features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] It is well known among pool and billiards' players that a slight error in engaging and striking a cue ball can make a serious difference in the path and spin of the ball and results of play. Much skill is required when a cue ball is inconveniently located such as by being distant from the reach of a player's arms or by being closely obstructed such as by object balls. One approach to engaging such cue balls is to employ a mechanical extension to a player's reach utilizing a device referred to as a bridge 10 shown in FIG. 1. The bridge 10 includes a handle 12 having a free gripping end 14 and tapering to a thinner, opposite end 16, very much like a conventional cue stick shown in FIG. 5. A difference is that the handle 12 has no cue tip, but instead is fixedly assembled to a hub 18 of a substantially rectangular guide plate 20 so disposed across the free end 16 of the bridge handle 12.

[0027]FIG. 3 is a left side view of guide plate 20 taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1. A phantom outline 19 is drawn about guide plate 20 in FIG. 3 to indicate the substantially configuration of plate 20 which may be 4″ to 6″ long and may be 2″ to 2½″wide. Plate 20 has a face 21 containing the hub 18 and there is a long bearing edge 17 and another long opposite edge 22 containing notches 23, 24 and 25. The end 16 of bridge handle is seen in section in FIG. 3 and it is fixedly attached by means (not shown) to hub 18. Also, for clarity, a phantom lined picture of an end 27 of an unseen cue stick 42 is shown in notch 24 to appreciate the function of a bridge 10 which will be later shown in more detail below. Bridge 10 is is seen FIG. 1 resting on a playing surface 28 which is typically hard and flat and covered by a soft material such as felt. When seen in the typical manner of FIG. 1, bridge 10 resembles a miniature garden rake.

[0028]FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the bridge 10 shown in FIG. 1. However, the the bridge handle 12 has been rotated toward the viewer to bring guide plate 20 (FIG. 4) to rest on surface 28 bearing upon a short edge 30. Note that there is another opposing short edge 32 which is upwardly oriented and is elevated so a notch 34 in edge 32 may be utilized to hold and aim an unseen cue stick 42 having a phantom lined picture of a guide end 46 to show function of the bridge 10 in this mode of operation shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. Note also that the bridge handle 12 in FIG. 2 has been elevated above surface 28 to better bridge over an obstructing object ball 40.

[0029] In another prior art method of bridging over obstructing ball 40 on a surface 28, FIG. 5 shows a pictorial view of an unseen player engaging a cue ball 50. A cue stick 42 having a gripping end 44 and a guiding end 46 is utilized without benefit of a bridge 10. A player's first hand 52 is applied near the gripping end 44 for supportively translating the cue stick 42. The player's second hand 54 is applied near the guiding end 46 of cue stick 42. Such guiding is achieved by placing hand 54 downward upon the surface 28, then raising the knuckles 55 (one shown) and the thumb 56 upwardly as shown in FIG. 5. There is formed a “V” shaped bridge 57 between the thumb 56 and the adjacent knuckle 55 and the fingers 58 and 59 (or more) bear on surface 28 to support “V” shaped bridge 57 for supportively guiding cue stick 42 over obstructing object balls 40 and 41 into engagement with cue ball 50. A problem with the prior art method shown in FIG. 5 is that a cue ball may not always be within easy reach of a players hands 52 and 54 and the cue stick 42. Another problem is that one or more obstructing balls may be much closer than the object balls 40 and 41 are to cue ball 50. These and other problems are addressed in FIGS. 6 and 7 and are believed more fully resolved utilizing the present invention as shown in FIG. 8.

[0030]FIG. 6 shows a typical method using the bridge 10 to extend the reach of the player's hands 52 and 54. The guide plate 20 is rested in its most stable position on its long edge 17 and the opposite long edge 22 having a notch 24 is utilized to hold and guide cue stick 42. Player's hand 52 typically continues to grip end 44 and translate cue stick 42, but hand 54 is now used to grip end 14 of handle 12 and to manipulate, as desired said bridge handle 12 to bring plate 20 into position behind the cue ball 50 and to hold and stabilize bridge 10 during the play.

[0031]FIG. 7 shows a typical use of the bridge 12 to reach the cue ball 50 when it is obstructed by an object ball 40. The guide plate 20 is rotated upwardly by the player's hand 54 according to the arrow R2-R2 until the guide plate 20 rests on its short edge 30 and the opposite, upward short edge 32 and its notch 34 can be utilized to hold and guide the cue stick 42. Notch 34 is about twice as high above playing surface 28 as is notch 24 shown in FIG. 6. Accordingly, the end 46 of cue stick 42 may easily be bridged over the obstructing ball to engage the cue ball 50. However, it will be appreciated that the bridge 10 is not nearly as stable in FIG. 7 as it is in FIG. 6. Moreover, the player's aim is known to be less effective and control of the translating function of hand 52 is less precise in playing a cue ball 50 with bridge 10 in the manner shown in FIG. 7. Moreover, the bridging function is less adequate when there is even more than just one obstructing ball 40 as shown in FIG. 8.

[0032]FIG. 8 shows new and improved apparatus for bridging a cue stick 42 over what may be several obstructions such as the object balls 51, 52 and 53 shown on surface 28 to engage a cue ball 50. Bridge 10 is elevated and stabilized by a bridge holder 60 having a body 62 and legs 71 and 73. Only leg 73 can be seen in FIG. 8 and its further detail will be explained later below.

[0033]FIG. 8 shows that holder 60 is applied near end 16 of handle 12. However, holder 60 is slidably attached to handle 12 so holder 60 may be moved according to arrow D-D to an advantageous position such as that shown in FIG. 8 where guide plate 20 is disposed between obstructing ball 51 and 52. A player's hand 54 grips end 14 of bridge handle 12 and slides bridge 10 forward or back to suit the conditions on surface 28. The end 14 of handle 12 may also be raised and lowered using holder 60 as a fulcrum according to arrow A-A to move guide plate up or down according to arrow B-B to avoid an obstruction such as ball 52. Note that, with holder 60, there is no need to rotate guide plate 20 as shown in FIG. 7 so the instability associated with using the short edges 30 and 32 of guide plate 20 is avoided.

[0034] Reference is now made to FIGS. 9, 10 and II which respective top and first and second side views of bridge holder 60. FIG. 9 shows that the holder 60 may hold and support an unseen bridge by its handle 12 shown only partially and in phanom lines in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11. Holder 60 includes a body 62 having an upwardly concaved top trough 64 and opposing sidewalls 66 and 67 fitted closely more than half way around the circumference of handle 12 (FIG. 10). The trough 64 and its sidewalls 66 and 67 are of a length (about 1″ as shown) along a handle 12 sufficient to provide stability for holding the load of a bridge 10 and a cue stick 42 (neither shown).

[0035] In a presently preferred embodiment, the body 60, its trough 64 and sidewalls 66 and 67 are made of a material of such as a resilient plastic which is pliable. Sidewalls 66 and 67 are bent inwardly toward each other and have portions 68 and 69 which are bent outwardly. The portions 68 and 69 (FIG. 10) are wide enough apart to readily guide a handle 12 toward trough 64 and sidewalls 66 and 67 are biased toward one another so they are forced apart by a handle 12 to form a snap-fit of such handle 12 when placed in the trough 64. The snap-fit may be sufficiently tight that the entire holder 60 remains attached to a bridge handle 12 and is not detached when a bridge 10 is carried about for play or stored in a conventional stick rack.

[0036]FIG. 10 is a side view of holder 60 shown in FIG. 9 taken along line 10-10. The sidewalls 66 and 67 are extended downwardly from trough 64 to form opposing skirts 74 and 75 which are preferrably coextensive in length with the trough 64 to support the load of at least portions of a bridge 10 and cue stick 42. The skirts 74 and 75 also contain means such as thru-bores (not shown) to make connection to the legs 71 and 73 utilizing the bolts 78 and 79 and the nuts 80 and 81. The legs 71 and 73 may be at least partially rounded as shown at the bottom ends 88 and 89 for protecting an unseen covered surface from damage when the holder 60 may be slid over such surface.

[0037] The connecting means for the tops of legs 71 and 73 may include flattened portions 84 and 86 as shown in FIG. 10. Such portions 84 and 86 extend sufficiently upward along and in contact with the inward surfaces of the skirts 74 and 75 such that the bolts 78 and 79 and nuts 80 and 81 can firmly connect the legs 71 and 73 for stability and reliability.

[0038]FIG. 11 is a side view of holder 60 taken along line 11-11 in FIG. 10. The nearest skirt of sidewall 67 has been broken away to show means for rotating the leg 73. The tops of the top plates 84 and 86 have cams 92 and 93 but only 92 is shown having a wide portion 94. Accordingly, if leg 73 were rotated in a clockwise direction, the wider portion 94 would bear on a bottom portion 96 of the body 60 and stop rotation in that direction. However, when leg 73 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction as shown by arrow C-C, the wider portion 94 is rotated away from body portion 96 and a desired rotation is achieved bringing leg 73 to the position shown substantially parallel to the bridge handle 12. It will be appreciated that both legs 71 and 73 may be rotated as desribed and the holder 60 may remain on the bridge handle 12 when holder 60 is not being utilized for bridging. In a further embodiment, the bolts 78 and 79 may contain resilient means such as pliable washers or pliable material in nut bores (not shown) such that the nuts 80 and 81 hold tight when legs 71 and 73 are rotated. In a still further embodiment, the skirts 74 and 75 and the legs 71 and 73 are formed into an inverted “V” shape (FIG. 10) for stability and to distribute the load on the holder 60 substantially equally between legs 71 and 73. It will be further appreciated that the legs 71 and 73 may be made longer or shorter to suit a player's desire for height above a surface 28 for engaging a cue ball 40.

[0039] There have been illustrated herein certain embodiments of the invention and certain applications of the embodiments. Nevertheless, it is to be understood that various modifications and refinements may be made and utilized which differ from these disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0040] For example, in another embodiment, caps of a material which develop friction with the playing surface 28 may be applied over the bottom ends 88 and 89 of the legs 71 and 73. The material may be elastic to provide a tight fit over the ends 88 and 89 and advantageously frictional with the surface 28 to prevent movement of legs 71 and 73 during play of the game. 

What is claimed is:
 1. Apparatus for holding and supporting a load comprising portions of a bridge and a cue stick utilized for playing games such as pool and billiards, comprising: a body having top means for holding said bridge load and bottom means for connecting to means for supporting the body from a flat playing surface, and such support means being connected to said body and extending downwardly from the body a desired distance to rest upon the playing surface.
 2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the top means of the body further comprises: an upwardly concaved trough having opposing sidewalls and fitting closely more than half way around the circumference of a desired handle of a bridge and of a length along the trough sufficient to provide stability for holding the load of a bridge by its handle.
 3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein the trough on the body further comprises: said sidewalls and the trough being sufficiently resiliently pliable whereby portions of the sidewalls are biased toward one another and may be forced apart by a handle to afford a snap-fit of a handle placed in the trough such that when such a placed handle is lifted and the bridge is carried about by a player the apparatus remains firmly attached to said bridge handle.
 4. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein portions of said sidewalls extend downwardly from said trough to form opposing skirts of sufficient length along the side of the trough to support the bridge load therein, further comprising: means on the skirts for connecting to the body, said means for supporting the body and the bridge load.
 5. Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the support for the body and the bridge load comprises: first and second opposing legs each having bottom means for permitting the apparatus to be slid along a playing surface without damage to such surface; a top portion of each leg being flattened into a plate extending upwardly along the skirt of the body; a thru-bore in each skirt and a corresponding thru-bore in each plate of a leg; and each of said corresponding thru-bores containing a bolt and nut connecting each leg to a respective skirt for transferring support of a body, substantially equally to the first and second legs.
 6. Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the skirts are attached to the body to form an inverted “V” shape whereby the legs when connected to the respective skirts extend downwardly to continue in the inverted “V” shape to support the body from the playing surface.
 7. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein the legs are each rotatively connected to a respective skirt of the body, further comprising: resilient means with the bolts for connecting a leg plate against its respective skirt such that when a leg is rotated about a bolt said nut and bolt remain in tight connection;
 8. Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the top of a top plate of each leg has a cam configuration such that a portion of said cam is wider than the remaining portions of the cam, and said wide portion of the cam prevents rotation of the legs in a first circular direction and permits rotation in a second circular direction for storing the legs upwardly in a preferred manner substantially parallel with a handle of a bridge held in the body of the apparatus.
 9. Apparatus for holding, in combination with a pool player's bridge, a portion of a cue stick for striking and propelling a cue ball over a flat surface, comprising: a body having top means for holding onto a handle of the bridge, said body also having bottom means for connecting to means for supporting the body from said flat surface; and means connected to the body for supporting the body and portions of the bridge and the cue stick from said flat surface.
 10. Apparatus as in claim 9, wherein the top means of the body includes means for firmly snap-fitting the body onto the underside of a handle of a bridge such that the apparatus can be readily attached and detached from said handle.
 11. Apparatus as in claim 9, wherein the means for supporting the body includes: first and second legs, each having top means for connecting to the body in opposing fashion to form an inverted “V” shape and bottom means for safely supporting the apparatus from the playing surface.
 12. Holder for a bridge and cue stick on the bridge for playing games such as pool and billiards, comprising: a body having a top means for holding such bridge and cue stick and bottom means for connecting to means for supporting the body from a playing surface; and such support means connected to said body and extending downward therefrom a desired distance to rest upon the surface.
 13. Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the support for the body and bridge load comprises: first and second opposing legs having bottom means for prohibiting the apparatus from being readily slid along a playing surface.
 14. Apparatus as in claim 12, wherein the bottom means includes caps over an end of each leg made of a material which develops a desired friction with the playing surface such that further stability is provided for holding and supporting the load of a bridge and a cue stick when engaging a cue ball. 